About to finish a two week holiday in japan. The food is fantastic, we have tried everything from chains, konbinis, classic restaurants, izakayas and bars.
I do find that there is not many vegetable sides with our meals, most of the time it is just cabbage. Is there a particular reason why this is? Thanks in advance!
by deadfish1225
34 Comments
It’s restaurant food and it’s what people expect, people cook more vegetables at home. But you can still pick up fruit, salads, and veg at conbinis, and supermarkets. I always look for vegetable dishes at restaurants, and teishoku places vary, some have more vegetables than others. But that’s where you get the closest to home cooking.
i noticed that as well would be interested to hear what locals have to say
That entirely depends on what you order/get yourself.
At least for fried/deep-fried dishes, raw cabbage is a good partner that helps with digestion (plus it’s cheap).
Lived in Japan for 5 years now, it’s extremely common in restaurants to have small portions of vegetables. The only exception are the katsu places that offer unlimited cabbage with your meal or the buffet meals at hotels that have salad bars. I just eat a lot more veggies at home to compensate if we eat out.
It’s because you need to have the full Japanese holiday experience and have the worst constipation you’ve ever experienced in your life.
I had this issue as well when I traveled in Japan, before I went there with my wife (who is Japanese).
Now when we go she finds the good spots – we generally like izakayas, so we often go to those. There are almost always vegetable based dishes on the menu based on whatever is in season, so it is no longer a problem.
If you order a set menu, it is mostly in a classic format that just includes some pickles or cabbage as you mentioned. You sort of have to go outside of the standard set menus to get vegetables.
I did 3 weeks of traveling in Japan and YES I also noticed veggies were in short supply when eating out.
I’m 2 months deep in my 3 months trip. I definitely miss vegetables.
I’ll catch up on my vegetable intake when I get back home. I’m planning to cook the most magnificent ratatouille.
But in the mean time, I’m getting as much as I can at breakfast.
find a ringer hut and you can get a bowl of noodles soup with, basically, a whole head of cabbage in it
Izakaya restaurants usually offer a large selection of vegetables, both pickled and fresh
That’s a LOT of pasta…
Tonkatsu places I generally go hv free refills for cabbage, miso soup and sometimes rice but it’s not in Japan. I usually go all out on the shredded cabbage. Maybe it depends on the place.
Japanese usually eat veggies at home. When they eat out they tend to splurge so it’s more meat heavy.
Everytime I saw a street stall selling pickled cucumbers I bought some 😅
Going to katsu places especially with curry is like going to MacDonald’s for us. We know that it is junk food.
Now if you go to yakiniku king for example, they have vegetables to BBQ plus pretty good (for Japan) salads. Udon/soba places are the same as you don’t go there expecting vegetables or fruit.
It’s like going to the US and eating at only Diners drive ins and dives while ignoring healthier options. Yes its a trip to umami mura, but not exactly healthy balanced diet.
Not to slight the quality of the food here but you are essentially eating a lot of fast food. That is always skewed towards instant gratification and satisfaction (high salt, fat, intense flavors, often remarkable amounts sugar, carbs) and not healthiness. For example you‘d be surprised how much sugar goes into teriyaki style glazes and sauces / tsuyu. Tempura is no health food either.
Japanese homecooking will typically have smaller meat portions, lots of vegetable sides and almost always some pickled vegetables. Plus the miso soup that accompanies most meals has a vegetable component.
When I was living with a japanese family several years ago for a month, we had fruit (nashi-pears, peaches mostly), roasted kabucha squash as breakfast almost every day (rice, eggs and miso soup were also often breakfast staples) and dinner was almost always a bowl of rice, a bowl of miso soup with vegetables, pickles of some kind, various kinds of vegetables or legumes often with a sesame-soy or miso dressing, and maybe a few pieces of katsu or some salmon or other fish, curry with lots of potatoes, onion and carrots plus a protein, etc. Vegetables were a large part of the meal and preparing them often took more time and effort than the protein. Typically more than one vegetable based dish was served.
Its food from a restaurant.
Japanese people eat the VAST majority of their meals at home. Meals are usually around 75% veg at home.
Fruit is a rather hit or miss depending on the person, but I still find that more people like/are open to eating fruit in Japan relative to the rest of the world.
These meals are from restaurants and differ from what we typically eat at home, which includes more vegetables. Yes, restaurant meals don’t include the ideal amount of veggies. How about ordering 野菜炒め (stir-fried veggies) every day? 😉 You may want to visit grocery stores or depa-chika to find some fruits and veggies while traveling. Most tourists seem to misunderstand that we eat the same food restaurants serve at home, which is not true. Restaurant meals ≠ home-cooked meals
It’s because the Japanese digestive system is so efficient at extracting nutrients, they get all the vitamins they need just from rice, meat and noodles.
I love katsu
Basically, vegetables and fruits are expensive in Japan. It all comes to that in the end. I’ll get downvoted, but whatever. I could buy a bag of apples in Europe for the same price I buy a single apple in a Japanese supermarket. Same goes for tomatoes etc.
A lot of people spend weeks in Japan and never have Japanese food, from a *certain point of view*. From this point of view, none of the pictures you’ve posted are really even a part of Japanese meal.
These foods considered are “western food”, not really Japanese:
– anything coated with panko, such as tonkatsu and croquettes
– omurice
– curry
These are considered Chinese:
– ramen
– gyoza
– fried rice
These are Japanese, but are street foods or quick lunch foods:
– sushi
– soba and udon
– onigiri
– tempura is a special case for several reasons, but I would put it here
These are Osaka street foods, particularly “junky” (from this point of view):
– okonomiyaki
– takoyaki
– yakisoba
Yakiniku is Korean. Notice that while yakiniku has few vegetables, sukiyaki and shabu-shabu have a LOT of vegetables.
Of course people can and do make a meal out of any of these, even at home. Cafeterias at school and at work serve a lot of these foods. I admit this point of view is stuffy. However, if you’re invited to a traditional household for dinner, or go to a traditional restaurant, even some traditional izakayas, you will find NONE of these foods (except tempura, which is a special case).
The word in Japanese for the kind of food I’m talking about is “washoku,” or sometimes “nihon ryori.” There’s plenty of restaurants that serve it, but it tends to get lost in the shuffle for tourists.
It’s just a challenge of tourist eating. I do find it slightly surprising that some restaurants *don’t* offer more vegetable dishes, even as small sides, but I found as a tourist in Japan you could easily top up your intake by buying fruits and salads for lunch. Smoothies too from Seven Eleven, and they’re inexpensive. I think Europeans are often spoiled by the amount of fruit and veg easily and conveniently available, but also even with meals that are viewed as unhealthy, there is usually some form of vegetable or salad served with it – christ even our McDonalds offers apple and carrot slices for kids (not everyone takes it, of course, but it’s there if you want it).
Honestly, I find Japan easier than America, where every time I have felt so unhealthy as a tourist. I end up eating Mexican food (authentic, not texmex) to top up my vegetable intake because everything is just meat and carb. Or at least that’s how it feels.
Not to knock your choices because yes, the food here is great, but this is basically like going to an amusement park/carnival, eating funnel cakes and burgers and wondering where the vegetables are. These aren’t dishes we Japanese eat daily. I’d wager you’d find more variety by going to a washoku/wa-teishoku restaurant, or izakaya.
Combini fruit and veg saved me
I mean, kinda have to order it?
I made sure to order a salad on the side if available on the menu or have a salad and fruit along with other items for breakfast at the hotel buffet.
Order a side of cabbage with dressing
Imagine going to KFC ( tonaktsu / Soba Place ) and expecting “Fruits and Vegetables”…
Cries at the mention of fruit
Locals have vegetables in their home cooking.
We tend to buy fruits from the supermarket when visiting. Strawberry season is good if you can find the cheaper ones.
We get the same complain here in France. Are you going to eat steamed veggies? Or are you going out as a celebration? I make a delicious pumpkin soup but I won’t ever order it at a restaurant. Because if I’m spending restaurant money, I want a steak and something deep fried. Same thing is happening in Japan. You go out for special meals you can’t or don’t make at home.
When I fly to Japan, I don’t eat at restaurants very often. I go to supermarkets, depachikas, or home cook shops where there’s plenty of healthier options, with konbinis being the last resort. I can still get fried stuff (aji fry being my favourite) but I can combine that with rice and veggie dishes. Keeps me regular in the toilet.
Aw man I used to live my junior high school lunches – so much fresh and tasty veg! But yes, as people have said you don’t get much of it in restaurants. This time of year pumpkin/kabocha is especially good, especially if it’s simmered in a gentle broth.
I always get some seaweed salad with most meals out – usually on most menus.